• Kristin Andrews: Is that spider conscious?
    Dec 17 2024

    Alan’s fleeting thought while chasing a spider around the floor sparked a conversation with an animal minds expert who argues that many more creatures than we imagine are conscious. What could this mean for our relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom – including those that annoy us and those we eat?

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    41 mins
  • John Pollack: The Surprising Power of Puns and Analogies
    Dec 10 2024

    Good analogies led to cheaper cars and Apple computers; bad ones to lives wasted and lost. And while puns might not always make you smile (or grimace), they helped pave the way for written language.

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    39 mins
  • Jasmin Graham: She’s Down with Sharks
    Dec 3 2024

    As a Black graduate student disillusioned with academia, she founded Minorities in Shark Science (MISS). She now pursues her passion for sharks and outreach to a public fearful of sharks as a successful independent researcher.

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    36 mins
  • Craig Foster: Life Lessons from an Octopus
    Nov 26 2024

    For most of us who live in the “tame” modern world, a reminder of how we can refresh ourselves by experiencing the wild world – even the wild world of our backyard or city streets.

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    36 mins
  • Joshua Greene: Games That Build Bridges
    Nov 19 2024

    His research figuring out how our brains make moral judgments has led to two on-line games: One aimed at overcoming political animosity (and that’s fun to play!); the other to satisfy both your head and your heart when you donate to charity.

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    40 mins
  • Dan Heath: In Someone Else’s (Working) Shoes
    Nov 12 2024

    Most of us have no idea how others – even our friends and neighbors – spend their days at work. What’s it really like to be a plumber, a marriage counselor, an ice cream truck owner, an author of mystery novels? In his podcast Dan Heath talks to workers in dozens of different jobs to find out What It’s Like to Be.

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    39 mins
  • Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods: How to Raise a Great Dog
    Nov 5 2024

    The puppy kindergarten at Duke University is discovering how to spot a future great service dog while the dog is still a puppy. And it turns out that what makes a great service dog can also make your dog great.

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    40 mins
  • Backstage at The West Wing
    Oct 29 2024

    How the acclaimed TV series came to be and what it has come to mean since, as recalled in a new book by cast members Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. Including stories you’ve probably never heard before.

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    40 mins